Paris (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Top United States officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are in Paris for high-level talks with European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and security advisors to find common grounds to end the Ukraine war and Iran’s conflict.
French president Emmanuel Macron has officially greeted Rubio and Witkoff, joined by France’s foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot. The French presidency indicated that Macron had a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian president, right before meeting the US delegation.
U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio along with the U.S President’s special envoy SteveWitkof are in Paris for high level talk with French President Emmanuel Macron, British and German officials, including United Kingdom’s Foreign Minister David Lammy.
The Ukrainian officials, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief-of-staff Andriy Yermak with Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov are also key participants of the meeting.
As a planned meeting of U.S officials, Rubio and Witkoff the arrival of Ukrainian Officials was not announced. The Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said that the Ukrainian delegation will be in Paris to talk with U.S, France, British and German officials, without specifying that they will meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
The meeting of the day is underway. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha posted an update on his talks with the French, German and British Partners. He said ‘We discussed the paths to a fair and lasting peace, including full ceasefire, multinational contingent, and security guarantees for Ukraine.’
What Triggered the High- Level talks in Paris?
The High level talks in Paris between U.S officials with the European leaders comes in the light of continuous Russian air strikes and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent days.
As per reports almost 35 people killed in the drone attacks by Russia in the northeastern Ukrainian city of sumy on April 13, 2025, while at least 3 people were killed in the drone attack in Dnipro last night.
According to Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in the high level talks in Paris the officials will discuss a full ceasefire of the Ukraine war and international peacekeeping and post war security framework.
Why do European leaders show concern about US diplomatic treatments toward Russia?
European political leaders urged the United States to take a firm stance against Russia, emphasizing the need for measures to secure the complete ceasefire.
European leaders display growing uneasiness about the recent diplomatic activities between Moscow and the United States under the current administration. European leaders exhibit concern because President Donald Trump ‘failed’ to secure a ceasefire for the ongoing Russia-Ukraine dispute which reached its third anniversary.
The United States President Donald Trump stated that he wanted to end the war and showed his frustration towards Ukraine and Kyiv. In March 2025, Ukraine agreed on Trump’s ceasefire plan but Russia rejected. Both countries agreed to limit the strikes on energy targets and sea, which both accused each other of violating.
Kyiv and its European allies blame Moscow for rejecting Trump’s ceasefire proposal in March, and they want to persuade Washington to adopt a stronger stance, especially following a Russian strike on the city of Sumy on Sunday April 13, 2025, that resulted in the deaths of at least 35 civilians.
Is Paris serving as a turning point in Ukraine peace talks led by the United States?
The Kremlin stated that the gathering in Paris of U.S officials with the European Leaders and Ukraine is an opportunity for U.S President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff to update them on the latest developments regarding peace talks and finding a peace agreement in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff had a long meeting last week.
Peskov said that
“The United States is continuing to work in this direction with the Europeans and with the Ukrainians.”
He claimed that the US is still working on diplomatic initiatives with both Europeans and Ukrainians, but he reaffirmed Russia’s belief that European nations are still determined to prolong the conflict.
Can Europe and the United States find common ground on Iran’s conflict?
In addition, the French Foreign Ministry announced that Rubio would meet with Jean-Noël Barrot, his French counterpart, to talk about the Middle East, Ukraine, and the possibility of a new nuclear agreement with Iran.
On Saturday, Witkoff had a 45 minute meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi about Iran’s nuclear program in Oman. While conceding that any possible agreement remained far off, both parties characterized the discussions as constructive.
According to reports, U.S president Donald Trump had a meeting with top national security advisers regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
Despite having a major influence on the potential reinstatement of UN sanctions on Tehran, the US had not informed European nations about the nuclear negotiations in Oman prior to Trump’s announcement. This high level talk in Paris is presenting the chance to the U.S to coordinate with Europe on Iran’s conflict.
Since February 2025, Trump has reestablished a “maximum pressure” strategy against Tehran after withdrawing from a 2015 nuclear agreement involving Iran and six global powers during his initial term, reinstating severe sanctions on the Islamic republic.
On Monday, Trump expressed his belief that Iran was purposefully postponing a nuclear agreement with the US and stated that it needs to give up any ambition for a nuclear weapon or risk facing a potential military strike on its nuclear facilities.
